Everything You Need to Know About The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Museum
The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Museum may be on your list if you have a little astronaut in your life. Located in Concord, NH, this museum honors two New Hampshire astronauts (one lost in the Challenger explosion). If you’re considering a trip to the Granite State and wondering what to expect, you’ve come to the right place!
*Children under 3 are free, and teens between 13 and 18 are $12. The senior rate applies to anyone 62 and older.
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center Layout
The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is not a huge facility. It is two floors and you can easily walk end to end in a few minutes. The planetarium and most of the interactive exhibits are downstairs, with a few historical exhibits on the upper floor. There is also a cafeteria and gift shop on the lower level. There are bathrooms on both floors, and an elevator that can take you between the two. The elevator is large enough for a small stroller (probably not a double), but the facility isn’t big enough to justify bringing one, in my opinion.
My kids voted for the air canon, the sailboat, and the NH state rocks and minerals display. The air canon was a lot of fun, mostly because my kids were able to easily operate it on their own and it gave them a place to let out their frustrations from boredom. The boat was a bit confusing at first, but you use the wind generated by fans to steer the it to shore. My oldest loves gems, so she was very happy to look at the rocks and minerals display and chat about where each came from.
MOM’S FAVORITE
I’m going to vote for the flight simulator because no one else did. Mostly because it was working, well-designed and I hadn’t seen anything like it before. I didn’t play with it (my husband did because… #ex-gamer), and it looked like the idea was to try to “land” the plane.
DAD’S FAVORITE
The replica of the Mount Washington Observatory. He’s a man of few words and fewer emotions. His answer here was “I thought it was cool the replica of the hut.” There wasn’t much to it, but I guess it gives our children a precursor to our visit up there.
Biological Functions
FOOD
There is a small cafeteria at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. We didn’t peek around due to the other groups that were in there. It was a bit overwhelming because this place doesn’t absorb groups well. Just know that it’s there, so you will survive if you forgot to pack something. Additionally, I noticed a homeschool group pop around the corner to the right of the facility for a picnic. There were picnic tables back there and plenty of space to run around.
WATER
We did not see any water bottle fillers at the Discovery Center, but we did see a set of water fountains. I imagine the cafeteria also has water bottles available for sale.
BATHROOM
There are bathrooms on both levels of the facility. The museum has male, female and family bathrooms. We utilized the family bathroom on the first floor. There was plenty of space for all five of us, and it was very clean. The changing table was either infrequently used or very well sanitized, or both. They also have a diaper pail next to the changing table to keep fragrances to a minimum.
Ways to Save
The most obvious way to save on a visit is to check the reciprocal admission to any other membership you might have. Memberships to Squam Lakes Science Center and Acton Discovery Museum both offer an entire month free to visit. If you’re vacationing in the Granite State, and don’t have access to a library pass, you might consider purchasing a Breathe NH Fun Pass. I’ve perused the book a few times, and it looks like it has some great deals. The museum also participates in many other programs, such as the AAA discount, Blue Star Museum discount and Museums for All. You can learn more about their discount programs here.
Whenever we leave a place, I ask everyone in my group to tell me what their favorite thing was. My husband’s immediate response was “leaving.” This place was not my favorite, either. It felt like someone took down the cubicle walls, threw some historical facts up in frames and called it a museum. Many of the exhibits required a lot of reading, or an appreciation of history. Neither of which my crew have a solid grasp on yet, and certainly not something my husband or I could appreciate while we tried to manage our hooligans. Of the hands-on exhibits that existed, approximately half weren’t operational. At one point, my husband looked at me and said “I’m so glad this was free with our Discovery Museum membership.” I couldn’t agree more – at least for the ages of children we currently have. My younger kids (2.5, 4.5) didn’t understand what the eff was going on, and my older one doesn’t like history. Like at all.
That’s not to say this place was entirely terrible, it just wasn’t for my crew. With the planetarium, I could see where this would be a decent outing for the 8-12 year old set, provided they have some understanding of, or interest in, space and history. Additionally, going on a day where there are *no school groups* would probably be in everyone’s best interest. The day we went, there were three school groups and a large homeschool group. The school groups were maniacs – literally shaking the bars on the playground structure like caged monkeys. We walked out onto the playground and did an about-face. Outside of the flight simulator, everything else you could see by spending a day at Boston’s Museum of Science. Unless you’re Challenger die-hards, I’d skip this one and head there, instead.
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